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Last Game

Today was The Mayor’s last game of the regular seasons. Due to the high school state hockey tournament and injuries, his team had a short bench facing one of the best team’s in the division. Nevertheless, they were the little entice that could today. It was an awesome, fast-paced game that ended in a 0-0 tie. Obviously, both goalies had great games. I was impressed with the boys’ conditioning given they haven’t been able to practice for a couple of weeks.

In anticipation of this last game and states, the Mayor has been working hard to keep in shape. He’s been running three miles several days a week as well as lifting. More importantly, he has built stretching into his routine, which will help keep him healthy as he continues to run, workout and play hockey. When I first suggested he stretch and foam roll, he definitely gave me a big eye roll. Nevertheless, he took my advice and I’m by thrilled.

Last night the Hubby and I went out for a nice date on the town. For dinner, we headed to Pistache in downtown West Palm Beach. We split a wonderful charcuterie board with Brie, cheddar, chèvre, jambon, chorizo and all the accompaniments. It was very tasty. For dinner, I had, no surprise here, the steak au poivre. The Hubby meanwhile enjoyed the steak frites. For dessert, we shared the crème brûlée. It’s hard for me to quantify how much I love that dessert and Pistache’s version didn’t disappoint.

We ended up going out for dinner again tonight unexpectedly after the Mayor’s game. Tonight we joined my bro, Brandi and company at Casa Tequila for some amazing Mexican food. It was absolutely delicious. We split some nachos grande and queso, which was beyond amazing. Both exceeded my expectations. For dinner, I had the chicken fajitas. Although truth be told, I had a fajita and will be eating the rest for lunch tomorrow. We’ll definitely be returning to Casa Tequila!

Naturally, we’re all quite sleepy after a heart meal at Casa Tequila. Consequently, we’re chilling on the couch peacefully watching the Lightning and Predators duke it out in the Stadium Series. So far, it’s been an entertaining and physical game. We won’t probably make it through the entire game however because the Mayor has an early practice tomorrow in Coral Springs.

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Super Sunday

No surprise here, but our Super Sunday was spent at the rink. This was definitely a source of angst when the schedule first came out. The Mayor had two make up games Sunday afternoon in Pines and Coral Springs. Originally, the games were supposed to be at home, but a fire at the rink derailed that plan. The first game was a biggie because if they won it, they’d make states. Spoiler alert, they won!

They played the Florida Warrior, who they hadn’t played previously. I thought we got off to a bit of a shaky start, but once the Mayor got the scoring started it was all over. The boys ended up winning 6-0 with goals from five different kids and tons of assists. That’s exactly what you want to see on the scoresheet. Admittedly, we were all a bit nervous because the kids hadn’t practiced for over a week. Thank god they weren’t too rusty.

Between games we headed to Publix to grab the Mayor a sub. They barely had any time between games, but he needed to eat something. The second game was a much harder contest against Goldenwolves Black. It was a good, fast-paced game with little drama, but in the end they lost 2-0. Honestly, they could have won the game, but couldn’t finish. The Mayor had a great opportunity, but his stick broke on the shot.

Naturally, like everyone else my age, I wanted to see the halftime show. The two things i was excited to watch were the Air Force Heritage Flight Flyover and the halftime time show. Fortunately, I was able to catch the flyover right before the Mayor’s game started. And as luck would have it, the game ended minutes before the show started. I was able to watch the halftime show with my fellow hockey mom and dads as we collectively reminisced over the music and artists performing. It was magical.

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Weight of the World

I took a few days off from blogging after feeling like the weight of the world has been on my shoulders. It was an emotional weekend as Goalielocks played his last youth hockey game. His hockey journey started over a decade ago and has been magnificent. Nevertheless, it’s end is quite bittersweet. While us team lost both games Saturday, both he and his goalie partner were absolutely outstanding.

Beyond the last hockey game, there’s just an awful lot going on in life right now. Some good and some terrible. The last couple of month have been truly been the most difficult of my life. We, more to the point I could definitely use some prayers. This spring will bring more changes as Goalielocks graduates high school .

I’m certainly not the only mom that feels like I’m balancing the weight of the world on my shoulders. Its a tough gig this motherhood gig. While you’re in the throes of it, time feels like it’s stood still. And then you blink and their adults. As a mother, you give them everything you have no matter on what’s happening in life.

Weight of the world


For women who are ‘difficult’ to love. By Warsan Sire

you are a horse running a lone

and he tries to tame you

compares you to an impossible highway

to a burning house

says you are blinding him

that he could never leave you

forget you

want anything but you

you dizzy him, you are unbearable

every woman before or after you

is doused in your name

you fill his mouth

his teeth ache with memory of taste

his body just a long shadow seeking yours

but you are always too intense

frightening in the way you want him

unashamed and sacrificial

he tells you that no man can live up to the one who

lives in your head

and you tried to change didn’t you?

closed your mouth more

tried to be softer

prettier

less volatile, less awake

but even when sleeping you could feel

him travelling away from you in his dreams

so what did you want to do, love

split his head open?

you can’t make homes out of human beings

someone should have already told you that

and if he wants to leave

then let him leave

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Preparation

Preparation is the key to success. During AEP, it meant working out before working and having my Dunkin’ in hand as the day started. These days it’s waking up with enough time to watch The Great British Bake-off as I wake up. Honestly, the Dunkin’ is key to my preparation for everyday. The flip side is when I’m not prepared for the day, my day tends to go side ways.

So why all the talk about preparation? Last night the Mayor’s team had a game against the first place team in their division. Thankfully, Duane and Michelle brought some apple pie (moonshine,) which made the game palatable. Anyway, there was a clear lack of preparation as evidenced by nine players on the team being without mouth guards. Spoiler alert, you can’t be on the ice without it. In fact, the ref could have given the team a bench minor for it.

Nonetheless, the mouth guard debacle was indicative of how the game went. Now to be fair, this wasn’t a bad game for them to lose. It would be a much sweeter win when we see them in March. The lesson is poor preparation be it physical or mental only sets you up for a poor result. It wasn’t until I got consistent in my preparation for work that my sales really accelerated.

In other news, Anakin got bored at work this morning. Clearly, his preparation for the day wasn’t sufficient. To cope with his boredom, I guess he decided that he should chew on the picture book I just made. Fortunately, I can order new one from Shutterfly. Unfortunately, I’ll have to spend $50 to replace it. Consequently, I moved all the books off the coffee table less Anakin should get bored again.

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Playlist

In my mind, the perfect playlist is essential for every occasion. Particularly, I love my workout playlists. It’s another tool in the chest that helps me stick to my routine and keep my pace if I’m running. My go to music for my running playlist has been Metallica, The Offspring, Green Day, God Smack and Bush. The opening rif to For Whom The Bell Tolls is perfect pushing through a difficult run. I love it!

When I strength train there’s still plenty of Metallica and company, but it’s a broader playlist. Lately, I’ve been listening to a 90’s playlist that Apple Music built based on our music library. It’s a great collection of music albeit not all of the songs work well for working out. I don’t know about you, but REM’s Everybody Hurts isn’t my favorite hype song. Obviously I love the song, but it doesn’t work in the gym.

The largest collection music on my phone is my hockey playlist. After ten years of playing music at the boys’ hockey games, I’ve got over 300 songs on there. Clearly, there’s a lot of overlap between my lists, but the hockey one is quite diverse. I got everything from the Beatles to Britney Spears and Rammstein to Daddy Yankee. Anyway, music makes my world go round. It brings joy and color to life and keeps me focused on my runs, which is not an easy feat. What’s your go to pump up song? Let me know in the comments.

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Busy Weekend

We had a busy weekend at the rink. Goalielocks had two games yesterday in Coral Springs, while the Mayor had games in Palm Beach today. Unfortunately, the way our schedule worked out there wasn’t enough time to go home between games either day. Moreover, we didn’t even have time to leave the rink for lunch either day. Honestly, it makes for a really long day.


Goalielocks and the Toros dropped their two games yesterday. It’s so hard to play U18AA with a really short bench. Nonetheless, Goalielocks and his goalie partner both played phenomenally. The first game was pretty nasty. The Clearwater team was super dirty. In fact, one of their kids got tossed from the game for a terrible knee to knee hit on one of our players.

Today’s games were a little stressful. The Mayor’s team really needed to win both to have a chance at states. The first game versus the Makos was pretty tight. The Mayor got the game winning goal in the second period. His goalie came up with some huge saves to keep the Makos to one goal. Late in the third, the boys added an empty netter, which was a nice insurance goal. The final score on that contest was 3-1.

The second game they won 4-0 with goals from four different players. Including a beautiful short handed goal from the PK1 line. Honestly, that goal really took the wind out of the other team’s sails. Both games were a lot of fun to watch even if the first game was pretty stressful. The Mayor’s team has four more games left and they really need to wrack up the wins.

While we were at the rink, the temperature dropped considerably. It was in the 50s when we drove home. In fact, we’re under a frost warning. Or as I like to call it, a falling iguana warning. We don’t get many days that are this cool, so I’ll enjoy the lack of heat and humidity for the next day or so. And then we’ll get back to the normal heat and humidity. As for the rest of the night, we’re winding down our busy weekend with some NHL hockey.

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Beautiful Savannah

We really enjoyed our time in beautiful Savannah last weekend. In fact, I found myself wishing we had another day to spend exploring the town. Originally, we were going to drive straight to Charleston. However, when the tournament booked our hotel Saturday through Monday, we decided to spend Friday in Savannah.

Instead of getting a hotel room, we booked an AirBnB to share with our friends. We got a two bedroom apartment in downtown Savannah. It was an absolutely gorgeous apartment in a great location. I loved that the AirBnB put us in the middle of old Savannah. We are a mere two blocks off the river. Our street was also lined with several great options for coffee, food and drinks. The location was perfect.

If you go to Savannah, you have to check out the Riverside. It’s lined with shops, restaurants and bar. Moreover, the views of the sun setting over the river with the backdrop of the suspension bridge are absolutely stunning. Their are some street vendors making palm flowers and singing, but they’re not overly intrusive. At the east end of the strip, you’ll find the City Market. It’s super cute and has a lot of local vendors, which are always fun to support.

Of course, I really enjoyed my stops in the candy stores. In particular, I bought some tasty truffles and a rather large peanut butter cup from the Savannah Candy Company. This store offers a smorgasbord of tasty morsels from candy to popcorn and ice cream. Truly, it has something for everyone. However, they’re famous for their pralines and saltwater taffy. All of the candy is reasonably priced.

My favorite part of Savannah, outside of the candy stores of course, is walking the city. The architecture is stunning. It has the colonial feeling of Boston with a Georgia climate, which isn’t a bad combination in January. I love the green spaces in the squares that dote Savannah’s downtown. They’re absolutely beautiful.

If you go to beautiful Savannah, stay in downtown close to the river. There are several hotels in the area as well as AirBnBs. We had to pay for street parking at our AirBnB, but the cost was minimal. Our friends who woke up after 8:00 am Saturday and hadn’t fed the market, received what we thought was a citation. However, upon closer inspection, we discovered it was only a warning. Talk about southern hospitality! In short, Savannah is definitely a must see city.

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Long Drive

It was a long drive back from South Carolina to Florida last night, but we made it home safely. Fortunately, our drive was a happy one. The Mayor and his team won the championship Monday morning. Excitingly, the Mayor had a hat-trick in the championship game. He was on fire, to put it mildly. Speaking of fire, his goalies had an awesome weekend and earned the team the number one seed.

The problem with most tournaments is that the skill level in the brackets is all over the place. There’s usually a team that gets blown out every game and a team that blows everyone else out. Thankfully, this was not the case this weekend. There was a lot of parity in the U16 bracket. In fact, at the end of the round robin all four teams were tied in points. We had the lowest goals allowed, so we got the number one seed.

After the game we headed back to the hotel, so the Mayor could shower before we started our drive. Obviously, we didn’t want to hit the road with a stinky hockey player. Once he showered, we headed to Ihop for a quick lunch. Ihop definitely hit the spot. We finally hit the road just before 2:00 pm. As we headed out of Charleston, I uploaded and edited the pictures I had taken over the weekend. Thanks to my hotspot, I was able to upload the pics to Shutterfly and share with the team before we left South Carolina.

The drive home was pretty uneventful except for a major accident of the north side I95 in Georgia. Traffic on the southbound side didn’t slow too much despite the helicopter landing on the other side of the interstate. Its never gold to see the helicopter. Hopefully, everyone involved will be okay.

We broke up our long drive with a stop at Buc-ees in St. Augustine. For the uninitiated, Buc-ees is a chain of gas stations and convenience stores that are very large in scale. The chain is from Texas and it lives up to the reputation that everything is bigger in Texas. At the Saint Augustine location, there are 104 had pumps. The amount of food, drinks and random things sold at the store was overwhelming. However, I would highly recommend the chopped brisket sandwich. It was really good.

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Road Trip

We left the house this morning for a road trip up to Charleston via Savannah, Georgia. Originally, we had intended to drive all the way through to Charleston, but the Mayor’s first game isn’t until late Saturday night. Consequently, we thought we’d take the opportunity to spend a day in Savannah. It took a little bit longer than I had hoped to get out of the house this morning. I definitely was not moving very quickly, nor was the hubby. We finally got on our way at 10:30 this morning. The trip is arduous and long, but the drive up I-95 is literally pretty straightforward. While the 95 is a pretty easy drive, it is as boring or even more boring than it is easy to drive. There’s just nothing interesting to look at.

We made brief stops in New Smyrna and Ormond Beach for gas and Chic-Fil-A. I usually love their grilled chicken sandwich, but I wasn’t feeling it today. Fortunately, the french fries I split with the Mayor were very good. The two stops pushed back out ETA for nearly an hour. Thankfully, as we got closer to the larger metropolitan areas off of I-95 the traffics jams lessened and we made up some time. We finally got into Savannah around 5:00 pm. Tonight we’re staying in an AirBnB, which is my preference when traveling, in historic downtown Savannah. It’s a cute two-floor apartment in an older building on a busy Savannah street. Honestly, it’s just perfect.

I prefer AirBnBs to hotels because you have a lot more room to move around. If you’re traveling with your family, a hotel room is way too cramped. Also, I like being able to keep eating meals when on the road. If you’re in a traditional hotel, you can’t cook your meals. This helps save money and ensures the diet doesn’t go too far off the rails. We’ll be staying in a hotel once we get to Charleston because we don’t have any other option. This tournament is a stay-to-play tournament, so we must stay where the tournament directors put us. Honestly, it’s one of the most annoying aspects of youth sports. I hate spending $50 more a night for a room, so the rink and tournament director can get a kickback. Moreover, not only are the hotels overpriced, they’re not always high quality.

Day one of the road trip has been a success. We ate dinner at a cute restaurant off Broughton St in downtown. Before dinner, we walked downtown and down to the river. The riverside was absolutely stunning. It’s a super cute area lined with shops, bars, restaurants, and hotels. The famous Savannah City Market is there too. I wanted to stop and buy some chocolate but the Mayor was hungry. Since the Mayor turns into a monster when hungry, my mission to get chocolate was quickly and sadly aborted. Needless to say, I’ll be walking down that way tomorrow morning before we head north to Charleston.

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Panthers

The Florida Panthers are so fun to watch this year. In the sixteen years since we’ve been here, they’ve never been better. I was worried when Coach Q got fired that the wheels were gonna fall off, but they haven’t. In fact, interim head coach Andrew Burnette, one of my favorite MN Wild players, had done a fabulous job since taking over the reigns. In fact, he was just named as one of the head coaches for the NHL all star game. Hopefully, Viola and company will do the right thing and make him the permanent head coach.

As I started this blog, with writer’s block, Barkov scored a beauty of a short handed goal. The Panthers now have a commanding 5-1 lead over the Canucks heading into the third period. This team is just so good. Huberdeau is so good and deserves so much more recognition than he is given. He’s has multiple games over the last month with more than four points. I love the way he plays. Duclair, Gudas, Ekblad and company are so good. I hope this is their year because this squad is good.

This evening started with the Mayor’s hockey practice. For the first time in a long time, it was cold in the rink. Naturally, the cold rain and standing water in the parking lot didn’t help the situation. Thankfully, it’s always a good time at the with our Hawks 16u family. Now we’re back home enjoying the comfort of the couch and a nice warm blanket as we take in the Panther’s game.